Vince’s Spaghetti in Torrance gets a reprieve

Vince’s Spaghetti, originally scheduled to close in mid-April, is now looking for a new, smaller home. The restaurant has been run by the Parras family, including from left: Danielle Domizio, Andrew Parras, Hannah Parras and Gregg Parras.
File Photo

Torrance >> Wanted: New home for city dining institution after more than four decades on Hawthorne Boulevard.

Contact: General Manager Gregg Parras at Vince’s Spaghetti in Torrance.

Originally scheduled to close in mid-April, Vince’s is now looking for a new, smaller home.

Plans changed in the wake of a March 13 Daily Breeze article that said the family-oriented eatery that has catered to generations of South Bay residents would shut down a month later.

The local landmark, known for its generous portions of moderately priced Italian fare, had seen sales taper off by two-thirds since its 1980s peak, a victim of steadily declining sales.

“We thought we were passe,” said Parras, who started at the restaurant as a bus boy in 1976. “We had a good long run, but it was not what the public wants, we thought.”

Then word got around among its large cadre of loyal customers that there was only a matter of weeks left to sample Vince’s dunkable signature meat sauce at a comfy booth in a familiar atmosphere before it was gone forever.

“It was just like bedlam down here for almost four weeks,” Parras said. “That article alone just drove people in here like cattle through a shoot. That’s not the best description, but I honestly can’t describe it to you.

“Business easily quadrupled. It was a surreal scene. Some people were coming in crying. Some people were coming in angry.”

But the key was diners were coming in.

First, the closure deadline was extended a couple of weeks until April 27.

Then, when the sale of the property at Hawthorne Boulevard and Skypark Drive didn’t materialize as quickly as expected, Parras decided to remain open and keep the almost three dozen employees in their jobs until the property sold.

Now he’s looking at another, smaller location, perhaps operating in a strip mall mainly as a takeout business where customers can grab some ravioli and go.

If he can find a suitable spot that is.

“Reprieve!” the restaurant recently posted on its Facebook page. “Based on the overwhelming support that you, our customers, have shown, Vince’s will remain open for business until the property has been sold (and as long as we continue to show a return to prerecession numbers).

“We cannot thank you enough for the outpouring of loyalty, encouragement, well-wishing, persistence and especially patience that you have shown ever since the news of our impending closure became public.”